Bonner holds off Page, wins Marvin DeBolt Classic at 3-under

Thursday

Jul 13, 2017 at 5:40 PMJul 13, 2017 at 5:40 PM

SETH STRINGER @SethSnwfdn

NICEVILLE — Cam Page slumped into his chair, let out a sigh and lowered his head as he stared blankly into his scorecard. Three hours after lightning delayed the second round of the Marvin DeBolt Daily News Classic, the Fort Walton Beach senior knew full well the outcome.

So to did Cameron Bonner, who sat to Page's right checking over the winning scorecard.

The West Florida senior was the Marvin DeBolt Daily News Classic champion. Page was runner-up.

Separated by two strokes, the pair abandoned a pair of birdie putts on No. 10 at Eglin Golf Course after inclement weather hit. Those birdie putts were never revisited.

Bonner finished 3-under following an opening round 68 and Thursday's front-side 37, which was salvaged by birdies on Nos. 7 and 9. Meanwhile Page made up two strokes on Bonner with a front-side 1-under 35, but his four-stroke hole proved too deep on a day when the weather just wouldn't cooperate.

"I was feeling really good," said Page, who tees it up next in the Divot Derby next week in Pensacola. "At one point I was hitting really solid shots and I could tell (Bonner and third-place Colby Goodwin) were struggling. I was on a roll going into 10 and had an eight-foot birdie putt, so I felt good.

"Obviously I'm disappointed I wasn't able to catch up and progress, but Cameron deserved it. One-under is good news because that's actually my lowest tournament total, so that's something to mark down and keep building on."

Page trailed by just a stroke headed into No. 7 after Bonner bogeyed four of the first six holes and was just 1-under for the tournament. But Bonner regrouped with birdies on Nos. 7 and 9 to cap a 1-over 37 and then struck a wedge into the short par-4 10th for a five-foot birdie try. Then the clubhouse horns sounded.

"I started off kind of rough with four bogeys within the first six holes but I birdied seven, parred eight, birdied nine and had a good look on 10, so I wasn't giving it away," Bonner said. "I was making a good run at it.

"I was just waiting for my game to come around. Yeah, I made bogeys early on, but the pins were just ridiculous. After I birdied seven and nine and had a good look on 10, I felt good about my chances."

Bonner, who joins a lauded list of past winners that includes Bubba Watson, Boo Weekley and Heath Slocum, now heads to a tournament in Georgia and then the Divot Derby with momentum.

"I've been playing well and feeling better, so it's just a matter of continuing to improve," he said.

Leaderboard

1. Bonner, Cameron -3

2. Page, Cam -1

3. Goodwin, Colby +1

T4. Cobb, John David +4

T4. Hurt, Chase +4

T6. Thompson, Michael +7

T6. Holloway, Chandler +7

T8. Poate, Patrick +9

T8. Reilly, Brendan +9

10. Johnson, Steven +11

11. Milam, Parker +13

12. Stockings, Ben +15

T13. O'Connor, Chase +16

T13. Pearson, Cole +16

T15. Weatherall, Jackson +19

T15. Thames, Easton +19

17. Thomas, Logan +20

18. Smith, Nathan +21

19. Hopper, Dylan +22

20. Cook, Nicholas +24

21. Estep, Elijah +65

Boys 14-15

1. Burroughs, Justin +8

2. Dimitroff, Nicholas +10

T3. Smith, Turner +11

T3. Rigdon, Blake +11

5. Clark, Tyler +15

6. Ingram, Bryce +18

7. Hughes, Morgan +21

8. Abbas, Jaylen +23

9. Collins, Kevin +30

Boys 12-13

1. Jones, Justus +6

T2. Lark, Hunter +22

T2. Seagle, Parker +22

Boys and Girls 10-11

1. Roberts, Jack E

T2. Grant, Gracie +9

T2. Johnson, Mariane +9

4. Waldo, Julie +19

5. Lux, Camryn WD

Boys 8-9

1. Williams, Jayden +17

2. Zingaretti, Garrett +54

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